- Kevin Hardy (linebacker)
Infobox NFLretired
name=Kevin Hardy
|width=
caption=
position=Linebacker
number=51
birthdate=birth date and age|1973|7|24Evansville, Indiana
deathdate=
debutyear=1996
finalyear=2004
draftyear=1996
draftround=1
draftpick=2
college=University of Illinois
teams=
*Jacksonville Jaguars (1996-2001)
*Dallas Cowboys (2002)
*Cincinnati Bengals (2003-2004)
stat1label=Tackles
stat1value=743
stat2label=Sacks
stat2value=36
stat3label=Interceptions
stat3value=5
nfl=HAR114029
highlights=
* 1xPro Bowl selection (1999)
* 1xAll-Pro selection (1999)
* 1995Dick Butkus Award Kevin Lamont Hardy (born
July 24 ,1973 inEvansville, Indiana ) is a formerAmerican football player. Hardy played nine seasons as alinebacker in theNational Football League for theJacksonville Jaguars ,Dallas Cowboys , andCincinnati Bengals .High school
Hardy graduated from William Henry Harrison High School in
Evansville, Indiana , where he received numerous awards and accolades for football. Hardy was an honor roll student, and also playedbasketball and ran track. Hardy's basketball teammates in high school includedCalbert Cheaney , anAll-America n at Indiana, andWalter McCarty , who played at Kentucky.College football
Hardy attended the University of Illinois, as a business major, where he played Big Ten football, and became a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. In his senior season of 1995, Hardy was named the winner of the
Dick Butkus Award , given to the top linebacker incollege football , and was also a consensusAll-America n.During his time at Illinois, the Fighting Illini had a number of quality linebackers. In the 1994 season, the four linebackers in coach
Lou Tepper 's3-4 defense where Hardy, fellow Butkus Award winner Dana Howard, future NFL playerJohn Holecek , andSimeon Rice . Because of this, Hardy was often overlooked as a linebacker. At his position, he was not prolific in accumulating tackles like Howard, who played in the middle, nor was prolific in quarterback sacks, as was Rice, who as a "rush linebacker" played on the line of scrimmage like adefensive end . Despite this, Hardy's athletic ability stood out, and by his senior season, he was recognized as being among the very best linebackers in college football.Hardy finished his collegiate career ranking ninth on the Illinois all-time list with 330 tackles, fourth in sacks with 18, and fourth in tackles for loss with 38.
Professional football
Jacksonville Jaguars
Hardy was selected by the
Jacksonville Jaguars with the second overall selection in the1996 NFL Draft . Hardy's fellow linebacker at Illinois,Simeon Rice , was chosen with the third overall selection. Hardy played six seasons for the Jaguars, which included four trips to theNFL playoffs . Hardy was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 1996. In 1998, Hardy set the Jaguars team record with 186 tackles. Hardy led all AFC linebackers with 10.5 sacks in 1999, and again led the Jaguars in tackles with 153. His play helped lead the Jaguars to a 14-win season, and Hardy was selected to thePro Bowl as well as named to the AP All-Pro 1st team. In 2001, Hardy injured his knee in the ninth game of the season, his last game with the Jaguars.Dallas Cowboys
Hardy signed with the
Dallas Cowboys onApril 14 ,2002 as an unrestricted free agent. Hardy recovered from his injury and played for the Dallas Cowboys in the2002 NFL season . Hardy finished the season ranking third on the Cowboys in both total (114) and solo tackles (73), and also recorded two quarterback sacks. Hardy played outside linebacker, and also lined up as a defensive end in some passing downs.Cincinnati Bengals
Hardy signed a four year, $14 million USD contract with the
Cincinnati Bengals as an unrestricted free agent onMarch 6 ,2003 [http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1520086.html] , to be the Bengals new middle linebacker, after playing outside linebacker with the Jaguars and Cowboys. Hardy played for the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2003 and 2004 NFL seasons. Hardy was an integral part of the Bengals' defense in 2003, starting all 16 games and leading the team in defensive snaps played (1030 of 1038, for 99.2%). Hardy also led the team in tackles in 2003 with 124. He started 14 games in the 2004 season. The Bengals terminated Hardy's contract onMay 3 ,2005 [http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/CIN/8441428] . Hardy finished his career with 742 tackles(563 solo), 36 sacks, 43.5 tackles for loss, 11 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 45 pass deflections, 5 interceptions for 59 yards, and 1 touchdown in 134 games.After football
Kevin currently resides in his first
NFL home ofJacksonville, FL .References
*cite news|url=http://www.cincypost.com/bengals/2003/beng07-31-2003.html|title=Hardy prepared to be the man in the middle|author=Kevin Goheen|first=Kevin|last=Goheen|work=
The Cincinnati Post |publisher=E. W. Scripps Company |date=2003-07-31|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050211200553/http://www.cincypost.com/bengals/2003/beng07-31-2003.html|archivedate=2005-02-11
* [http://kffl.com/player/513/nfl Hardy Patiently Waits for a Call]
* [http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=23940 NFLPlayers.com bio]External links
* [http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/3581 NFL.com statistics]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=3532 ESPN.com player card]
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